And the prayers go up...

Thursday is creeping closer and I am reminded daily of God's perfect timing in all things. Through Caleb's little life most people have been surprised to find out that he deals with long-term medical issues... that is, until I started waffling about whether or not we should really put him through this surgery.

Through the last two years, and especially the past 12 months, we have been to more doctor visits for this one child than all other 5 combined. Most certainly, we have been to specialists I did not ever desire to have to go to and others I didn't even know existed. After multiple tests and blood draws and CT scans, the final plan came down to surgery, with an 80% success rate.

At first, I was sure it was the right thing to do. Then, Caleb slept through the night a few times and had a couple of "good" days and I began to question everything. However, all this sickness is taking a toll on his little body and over the last three weeks he has really been crumbling, so much so that perfect strangers are asking us if he is feeling ok...

So, while this is not the cheery blog post I would normally desire to write, it is real life. God has blessed our family so richly with each of our children, and Caleb is a precious part of that blessing. The Lord knew before Caleb ever arrived that we would be here today, on the eve of surgery following a life-long health struggle for our little guy, and knowing that God is in complete control of this situation is a great comfort to me. I am thankful for Caleb because his life has taught me more than anything else about truly trusting God, without questioning Him, but just quietly trusting. I will be honest, tonight as I find it hard to sleep, my mind running a little marathon, it is a deliberate and difficult choice to make, but one met with a peace that passes all understanding, just like the Word promises to provide.

If you think of my little guy over the next few days, please pray for him, for a safe and successful surgery; for the doctors to have wisdom and skill; for us to provide his care and be able to comfort him; for his siblings at home, that they be able to trust God with their brother; and that we would be able to point to Christ and share the Good News through this whole experience.

I best get to bed, the wee ones don't often sleep in... lots of little things to do tomorrow to prepare... like pray!

School's out...

We had planned to school through June and take July off, then pick back up again in August. We tend to school year-round-ish, the intent is to do school when there is no reason not to so we can take off when we need to. That is one of the reasons school is out now... a little early... sort of unexpectedly...


Caleb, our 2yo, is having sinus surgery on Thursday. He has had life-long health issues and after many doctors and numerous tests and lots of pondering, the doctors have decided that the culprit is likely in his sinuses and we are proceeding with surgery which, we pray, will act like a "reset button" on his health.

The question loomed in my mind for a while... what to do about school... keep going or not... but I have decided that in the unknown of the next few weeks, one less thing would be best. The weather is still mild (for Texas), so I am planning for a lot of time to be spent outside, soaking up the sun and chasing bugs. When Caleb is feeling tired or hurting, I am planning on cuddling up with movies and popcorn or reading aloud from our favorite books.

While the children are playing, I will work on organizing the books... art supplies... projects... We're setting up a new classroom for the coming school year, I will put that together as time allows... Lesson plans... maybe a full year of them... and we will plan on starting as soon as we get home from our vacation in July...

School's out... I am on the verge of excited... I wonder what the kids will think when I tell them tomorrow...

Digging in the dirt...

Today I finally got around to doing one of the things that has been on my "to-do" list for some time now... rescue my from flower beds from the Bermuda grass takeover... it all began in earnest last summer during my pregnancy with Micah which just happened to coincide with the hottest summer ever on record! When warmer weather peeked its head out a few months ago I had begun, from the street towards the house, working on cutting back old/dead stuff and pulling out pesky weeds and grass which had meandered into my flower beds. As much as I wanted to continue, life happened and this or that kept me from the task...

But today, I was prompted by my dear husband to figure out where I wanted to plant the 3 rose bushes I had purchased and PLANT THEM! Truth be told, I had absolutely no idea where I was going to plant them when I bought them... just wanted them... I love roses... moreover, I love rose bushes, they are a gift that keeps on giving!

So, I trudged out to the front yard... I looked... and in the back corner of the planting beds, on the right side of the front porch, I noticed the perfect spot for my new rose bushes. But, there was a problem... there were already plants there. Good news, I had already pulled out some rosemary bushes out of the beds this week (they were completely taking over), so I had somewhere to move the other plants to. Bad news, I have no idea what I am doing... never before have I transplanted plants that were actively (and successfully) growing... so, with shovel and hoe and rake in hand, I went to work. I also took the time to thoroughly eradicate the right side of my yard from the hostile take-over of grass... I am contemplating doing the left side tomorrow... and we shall see if the transplants survive... if they do, I have some more rearranging plans...

Seriously, I love digging in the dirt. I think I found about 10 earthworms today, and got genuinely excited every time. I was able to marvel at the many wonderful plants that God has created for me to enjoy... I was surprised (and quite pleased) to find the first calla lily bloom on the plant Elliott bought me three years ago that I thought I had killed... I got so giddy thinking about taking care of this little plot of land the Lord has blessed me with... thinking about different transplanting projects and also how to get the kids involved... such a great afternoon.

So, if you see me in the next couple of days and wonder why my hands are a strange shade of dirty, or if you think my nose seems a little pink... both observations are correct... though I scrub and scrub my hands won't fully shed the color of the dirt I dug in today... and though my sweet husband put up a cover for me to stay out of the sun, I never stayed in one place long enough to stay under the shade... and it was wonderful!